Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Jīngfāng Prevention and Treatment Recommendations

Novel coronavirus pneumonia (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by an entirely new pathogen. The prevention and treatment of this disease is a major challenge facing humanity today. Jīngfāng, the classical herbal formulae of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), were recorded in Shāng Hán Lùn (伤寒论, Treatise on Cold Damage) 1800 years ago. Since that time Shāng Hán Lùn has been has been widely used as a clinical guide for the treatment of acute febrile diseases. Due to similarities between symptoms described in Shāng Hán Lùn and that of COVID-19 patients, the possibility of crossing the barrier of 2000 years to apply prescriptions from Shāng Hán Lùn to treat COVID-19 is worth exploring. This article provides recommendations for the Jīngfāng treatment of COVID-19 based on study of ancient literature and current clinical research, across four categories: group therapy, individualised therapy, psychological intervention and general prevention.